Allsvenskan Round 1: Örebro, Malmö win season openers

Five teams celebrated happy season openers as the 2011 Allsvenskan kicked off April 2. 

  • Andreas Haddad slides ball between IFK Göteborg defenders Adam Johansson, Ragnar Sidurdsson, Sebastian Eriksson and goalkeeper Marcus Sandberg to give Örebro a 1-0 April 4 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium. Bildbyrån photo

  • Allsvenskan Round 1
    Örebro opens with road win
    Coming into the 2011 season, the players at Örebro knew they had to improve on one aspect of their game, despite a third-place finish last year.
    “We need to play better on the road,” said goalkeeper John Alvbåge. “We lost 10 games last year and a lot of those were on the road. We have to improve on that if we’re going to take the step and win the championship.”
    Örebro took a major step toward its goal April 4 as it beat IFK Göteborg at Gamla Ullevi Stadium in both team’s season opener. Andreas Haddad scored the lone goal and Alvbåge made it stand up as he registered his first shutout of the season.
    “This was a big win for us and a great way to start,” said Haddad. “We need to be strong on the road and we played well. We had a lot of losses away from home lost year, so this is a big win.”
    Örebro wasn’t alone in celebrating a happy season opener. Malmö, Elfsborg, Helsingborg and newcomers Norrköping all registered wins in their first matches of the year.
    by Chipp Reid

  • Daniel Tjernström, AIK and Joona Toivio of Djurgården fight for a corner in the final minute of their 0-0 draw April 4 at Råsunda Stadium. Bildbyrån photo

  • Örebro 1, Göteborg 0
    GÖTEBORG – Örebro scored a huge opening day win, knocking off IFK Göteborg 1-0 April 4 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium. New signing Andreas Haddad scored the lone goal of the match in the 74th minute. Haddad was one of four new players in the ÖSK starting lineup. Örebro took advantage of being a man up to score its goal. IFK defender Karl Svensson received a red card in the 52nd minute after picked he up his second yellow card of the match.

  • A pair of Häcken defenders close down Elfsborg forward Lasse Nilsson but Nilsson had the last laugh, scoring the winning goal in Elfsborg's 2-1 victory. Bildbyrån photo

  • Malmö 4, Trelleborg 2
    MALMÖ – Trelleborg dropped its “home opener” April 3 as Daniel Larsson scored a pair of goals and Brazilian defender Ricardo notched a pair of assists for MFF. The Svenska Fotbollsförbundet moved the game from Trelleborg to Malmö after ruling its home field of Vångavallen unplayable. Wilton Figueiredo and Larsson put Malmö up 1-0 before Magnus Andersson cut the deficit in half. Agon Mehmeti and Larsson struck in the second half to put Malmö up 4-1. Kristian Haynes hit a late goal for Trelleborg. Malmö goalkeeper Johan Dahlin assisted on Larsson’s first goal.

  • Mjällby goalkeeper Mattias Asper has the ball and Helsingborg striker Peter Larsson in his hands during HIF's 1-0 win April 3. Bildbyrån photo

  • Elfsborg 2, Häcken 1
    BORÅS – Elfsborg needed an injury-time goal from newly signed Lasse Nilsson to knock of GAIS 2-1 April 4 at Borås Arena. Häcken took the lead three minutes into the match after René Makondele Muzola tallied. Elfsborg tied the match 20 minutes later on a Johan Larsson goal. Nilsson truck the game winner in second-half stoppage time.

  • Malmö FF midfielder Wilton Figueiredo places the ball behind Trelleborg goalkeeper Fredrik Persson for a 1-0 lead. Bildbyrån photo

  • Helsingborg 1, Mjällby 0
    SÖLVESBORG- Erik Sundin struck in the 41st minute to lift Helsingborg to a 1-0 win over Mjällby April 3 at Strandvallen. Ardian Gashi set up the goal while goalkeeper Par Hansson made five saves to pick up his first clean sheet of the season.

  • Peter Ijeh, Syrianska and Marcus Hansson, Gefle, engage in an aerial duel during their 1-1 draw April 3 at Södertälje Football Arena. Bildbyrån photo

  • IFK Norrköping 2, GAIS 0
    NORRKÖPING – Two of the few players that helped Norrköping earn promotion scored in Peking’s Allsvenskan opener April 3 against Gefle. Imad Khalili and Shpetim Hasani scored in the second half to give Norrkoping the win at Nya Parken. Midfielder Fredrick Lundgren received a red card at the 71-minute mark after he picked up his second yellow card of the match.

  • Norrköping goalkeeper Abbas Hassan gets some help from his defense in preserving Preking's 2-0 win over GAIS. Bildbyrån photo

  • Syrianska 1, Gefle 1
    SÖDERTÄLJE – Newly signed Peter Ijeh helped Syrianska grab a point in its first-ever Allsvenskan match April 3 against Gelfe. Ijeh opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the match. Jakob Orlov tied the game for Gefle at the 58-minute mark.

  • Kristoffer Fagercrantz of Kalmar and Raul Ruiz of Halmstad chase down a loose ball during the Allsvenskan season opener April 2 in Halmstad. Bildbyrån photo

  • Djurgården 0, AIK 0
    SOLNA – After all the talk and posturing, DJurgården and AIK opened the season with a scoreless draw April 4 at Råsunda Stadium. DIF outshot AIK 6-2 but neither team players exceptionally well.

  • Halmstad 0, Kalmar 0
    HALMSTAD – Transplanted Spanish football had a less-than-auspicious debut as Halmstad struggled to a 0-0 draw with Kalmar April 2 at Örjans vall.